COSHOCTON - Members of the city's board of health are expected to discuss a proposal to merge the city and county health departments Monday night.

Mayor Steve Mercer, who oversees the city health board in a nonvoting capacity, has invited city council members to attend that session, which is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall's first-floor conference room.

Mercer said he expects no formal action, but said he will ask board members if they want to ask their county health counterparts if they are interested in pursuing a feasibility study.

Formal action is not likely to come before September, Mercer said. Both the City Council and the city board of health take a summer recess during August and will not meet in regular session then. However, the council is expected to hold one special session in early August to vote on an annexation request.

"At this point, as this (health) board has said multiple times over the years, we need to see what benefits there are to our citizens, what savings could be had through consolidation," Mercer said. "Because at this point, council is not really in a position to say we are going to do this or that."

Barbara Wilhelm, Hancock Public Health commissioner, spoke with both Coshocton City Council and the District Advisory Council of the Coshocton County Health District on July 5 to relate her experience with the recent merging of the Findlay city and Hancock County health districts, which took effect Jan. 1. Wilhelm came to Coshocton at the invitation of local resident Bob Brems, father of the late Coshocton County Health commissioner Robert Brems Jr.

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Coshocton City Health Department.(Photo: Michael Lehmkuhle/Tribune)

Brems said a merger would eliminate duplication of services, save money and help the health department achieve accreditation.

At-Large City Councilman Glenn Mishler said during city council's Monday workshop that he would support looking into creating an exploratory committee, but he does not see any "pressing need" for a merger or "any benefits in the near future."

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Katherine Clark, a public health nurse at the Coshocton City Health Department, details the services she provides, including adult immunization, communicable disease control, and help for children with medical handicaps.(Photo: Michael Lehmkuhle/Tribune)

At-Large Councilman Tom Grier agreed with Mishler, saying there is "no push to do it right now." Grier said the concept has surfaced several times in the past few years whenever one entity "isn't doing so well financially."

"Let's see how Hancock County does in a couple of years," Grier said. "They're brand new at this. They just started."

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Brittney Moyer, the home health clerk at the Coshocton city health department, manages birth and death certificates. (Photo: Michael Lehmkuhle/Tribune)

There are two ways to pursue a merger, according to County Health Commissioner Steve Lonsinger. The City Council and the District Advisory Council could both vote to do it, and then representatives from the city and county could work out a final agreement. Otherwise, voters could put it on the ballot and decide.